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THE LONDON COMPANY 

OF VIRGINIA 



THE 

LONDON COMPANY 

OF VIRGINIA 

A BRIEF ACCOUNT OF ITS TRANSACTIONS 
IN COLONIZING VIRGINIA 



PHOTOGRAVURES 

OF THE MORE PROMINENT LEADERS REPRODUCED 
FROM THE COLLECTION OF HISTORICAL PORTRAITS AT 
OAKRIDGE, NELSON COUNTY, VIRGINIA, SECURED FOR 
EXHIBITION AT THE JAMESTOWN EXPOSITION BY 

THOMAS FORTUNE RYAN 



- 






*i-4*"*\. 




NEW YORK AND LONDON 

1908 






THIS COPY IS ONE OF AN EDITION 

OF THREE HUNDRED COPIES 

PRINTED FROM TYPE BY 




NoJZl^f 

Gitt 

9 Ja '09 



INTRODUCTION 

The Jamestown Exposition of 1907 was in commemoration of the Ter- 
centenary of the first permanent settlement of English-speaking people 
on the Continent of America. The most potent factor in the promo- 
tion of that settlement was the London Company, and it seemed, there- 
fore, appropriate that in the celebration of an event of such historic 
significance a most honorable place should be given to those who were 
prominently identified with the movement which resulted in giving to 
America the greatest and freest government in the world. 

The question as to how this could best be done was not easily answered. 
I was Governor of the Division of History, Education and Social Econ- 
omy at the Jamestown Exposition. I consulted with my able and 
learned associate, Dr. J. A. C. Chandler, Director of the Division, and 
the result was a determination to secure portraits of some of those who 
had been most influential in shaping the policy of the London Company 
of Virginia. There was no such collection either in England or this 
country, and in making one there were many difficulties to be overcome. 
The original portraits were to be found in many different places : Some 
were owned by the English Government, others were part of great public 
galleries, and still others were in private collections. The privilege of 
copying these had to be obtained from their several owners, and when this 



INTRODUCTION 

was finally done, I found myself confronted with a still more difficult prob- 
lem. The Exposition Company had no money to appropriate for such a 
purpose. TheState of Virginia would doubtless have madean appropriation 
such as was necessary, but her General Assembly was not in session and there 
was no one authorized to act for her. To undertake to secure the sum 
desired by application to many contributors was impracticable; so I 
turned to my honored friend, Mr. Thomas Fortune Ryan, whose devo- 
tion to the Old Dominion was never more beautifully illustrated than in 
the prompt and generous manner with which he responded to my request 
and authorized me to secure, without regard to cost, the collection which 
was known as the "Thomas F. Ryan Historical Collection," and was 
universally regarded as one of the most beautiful and attractive features 
of the History Building at the Jamestown Exposition. The charm of 
it all was the delightful manner in which Mr. Ryan received the sugges- 
tion, saying as he gave me the order to secure the paintings, " I am never 
happier than when I am doing something to make whatever Virginia 
undertakes appear more beautiful and attractive to the world." 

This valuable historic collection now occupies a conspicuous place in 
the art gallery of "Oakridge," the magnificent country residence of Mr. 
Ryan, in Nelson County, Virginia. 

This volume contains a short history of the London Company of Vir- 
ginia, photogravures of each of the portraits and brief biographies, and 
it is printed by Mr. Ryan for private circulation among his friends who 
may not have the privilege of seeing the originals, but who will thus be 
enabled in some measure to enjoy with him this beautiful and valuable 
collection, which his love for Virginia first prompted him to gather, and 
which he preserves as a reminder of one of the most historic of Expo- 
sitions ever held in America. j Taylor Ellyson. 

May 20, 1908. 




THE LONDON COMPANY OF VIRGINIA 




!HE beginnings of permanent English coloniza- 
tion in America form perhaps the most interest- 
ing chapter in the history of the early part of the 
seventeenth century. The germs of English 
colonial ambitions are to be traced as far back as 
the first explorations of the Cabots, who immedi- 
ately after the discovery of western lands by Co- 
lumbus explored the coast of North America from Labrador as far south 
probably as Florida. For seventy-five years England made no attempt at 
settlement. Finally, however, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, during 
that wonderful period of English enterprise following upon the religious 
wars on the continent, interest in discoveries was again awakened and 
with it came experiments in colonization. In 1583 the first English 
settlement was made on the coast of Newfoundland by Sir Humphrey 
Gilbert, a half brother of Sir Walter Raleigh. Dissensions soon broke 

111 



THE LONDON COMPANY OF VIRGINIA 

out among Gilbert's adventurers and the colony was abandoned. On 
the return voyage Gilbert himself was lost in a severe storm which 
wrecked the tiny craft in which he was sailing. 

His enterprising spirit had its influence upon Sir Walter Raleigh. 
He immediately secured letters patent from Queen Elizabeth, and in 1584 
sent out two ships under Captains Barlow and Amadas to select in ad- 
vance a site for the colony. They explored the present coast of North 
Carolina and returned to England with glowing accounts of the new 
world. In honor of herself, the "Virgin Queen," Elizabeth named all 
of the territory claimed by England "Virginia." 

It appears that under the patronage of the Queen, Raleigh had no 
difficulty in securing adventurers for his daring undertaking, and in 
1585, a fleet under the command of Richard Grenville carried a colony 
to Roanoke Island. 

Among the colonists were John White, an English artist, and 
Thomas Hariot, a mathematician, both of whom were clients of Sir 
Walter Raleigh. Hariot wrote an account of his observations, which 
was the first book ever published on Virginia. White made a series of 
water-color sketches showing the manners and customs of the In- 
dians. 

After a year's existence the colony was visited by Sir Francis Drake, 
a gentleman pirate, the first Englishman to circumnavigate the globe. 
At the earnest solicitation of the colonists they were taken back to Eng- 
land by Drake's fleet. 

It was from Roanoke that the English first secured tobacco and the 
white potato. Everybody knows the old stories of how Raleigh weighed 
the smoke for Queen Elizabeth and of how his man-servant, coming 
upon him one day while he was enjoying his pipe, dashed a mug of ale 

[8] 



THE LONDON COMPANY OF VIRGINIA 

in his face, thinking that his master was on fire. The potato was taken 
by Raleigh and sent to his estate in Ireland. It was soon found to be 
one of the most valuable products that could be raised on the Emerald 
Isle, and became the staple food of the Irish people, hence its name 
"Irish Potato." 

Though the first attempt at settlement by Raleigh was a failure, he 
was not discouraged. The following year he sent, under the direction 
of John White, a body of one hundred settlers. Returning to Roanoke 
Island they restored the ruined huts which had been abandoned the 
previous year. Raleigh had instructed the colonists to enter the Chesa- 
peake Bay and settle near the present site of Norfolk, which had been 
visited by White and Hariot in their explorations. The pilot, how- 
ever, steered his boat in the wrong direction and carried the settlers 
back to Roanoke. 

White soon returned to England for supplies. But in the meantime 
England was about to go to war with Spain, and the whole attention of 
the nation was engrossed in preparations to repel the invasion by the 
Spanish Armada. White was therefore unable to return immediately to 
the colony. When he finally reached Roanoke, three years later, he 
found that the settlement had been abandoned by the eighty-nine men, 
seventeen women, and eleven children whom he had left. On leaving 
he had instructed the colonists that in case they were forced to give up 
Roanoke Island they should carve upon some conspicuous object the 
name of the place to which they removed. It was further agreed that 
if they had gone away in distress that a cross would be carved above 
the name of the place. Search of the devastated settlement revealed 
on a tree within the fort the word "Croatan" carved without a cross 
above it, indicating, according to the agreement, that they had not been 

t9l 



THE LONDON COMPANY OF VIRGINIA 

driven away in distress. Five different expeditions were sent out in 
search of the unfortunate colonists, but nothing was ever learned of 
their fate. This was the last time that Raleigh made an attempt 
directly to establish a colony in America. 

The State of North Carolina has remembered Raleigh's connection 
with that part of Virginia out of which it has been formed, and has 
named its capital after the father of American colonization — Raleigh. 
Moreover, his attempt to fix a settlement is marked by a monument on 
Roanoke Island which bears the following inscription: 

On this site in July-August 1585 (O.S.), colonists, sent out 
from England by Sir Walter Raleigh, built a fort, called by them 
" The New Fort in Virginia." 

These colonists were the first settlers of the English race in 
America. They returned to England in July 1586, with Sir 
Francis Drake. 

Near this place was born, on the 1 8th of August, 1587, Vir- 
ginia Dare, the first child of English parents born in America — 
daughter of Ananias Dare and Eleanor White, his wife, members of 
another band of colonists, sent out by Sir Walter Raleigh in 1587. 

On Sunday, August 20, 1587, Virginia Dare was baptized. 
Manteo, the friendly chief of the Hatteras Indians, had been 
baptized on the Sunday preceding. These baptisms are the first 
known celebrations of a Christian sacrament in the territory of the 
thirteen original United States. 

The colonial attempts of Gilbert and Raleigh are memorable by 
reason of the fact that they were the first efforts on the part of the Eng- 

Lion 



THE LONDON COMPANY OF VIRGINIA 

lish to establish colonies in any part of the world. These efforts resulted 
from two causes: first, a desire on the part of the English people to 
extend their commercial enterprises, and second, a desire on the part of 
Sir Walter Raleigh to prevent further colonization of North America 
by the Spaniards. To Raleigh the Spanish power was despicable. He 
was a bitter opponent, therefore, of any policy which looked toward an 
extension of Spanish possessions. He had great visions of a British colo- 
nial empire that would overshadow the Spanish colonial dominion. The 
time was not ripe for the success of his scheme, but with the evolution 
of the years came the realization of Raleigh's dream. The English 
colonial empire is to-day the greatest that the world has ever known, 
while the Spaniards have finally lost their entire colonial possessions as 
a result of the Spanish-American War. 

The year 1606 marked a change from the system of private at- 
tempts at colonization to that of corporate efforts. During the several 
years previous to this date a number of private voyages of discovery were 
indeed sent out, but no substantial progress was made in the direction of 
establishing a permanent colony on the American shore. It was a 
desire lor commercial profits which led corporate enterprises to under- 
take the establishment of trade colonies in the New World. All of 
these enterprises, both private and corporate, were undertaken under the 
patronage of the government, and it was the function of the government 
to legalize them. It was left, however, to the individuals or companies 
that proposed to plant the colonies, to promote and finance their 
schemes of colonization. And it was out of this union of governmental 
and private interests in active cooperation that proprietary colonies arose 
in America. 

With the failure of Raleigh's attempts at colonization, it became 

c«:i 



THE LONDON COMPANY OF VIRGINIA 

apparent to those in England who had their eyes turned toward the pos- 
sibilities of rich rewards in the New World, that a strong corporation 
might succeed in accomplishing what individuals had failed to bring 
about. -Bartholomew Gosnold, who, in 1602, had made a voyage to 
America, was perhaps the prime mover of the establishment of the first 
permanent settlement in Virginia, just as Captain John Smith, after the 
planting of the colony, was perhaps its leading spirit. It was Gosnold 
who succeeded in arousing interest among certain of the nobility and 
gentry in England, and he, himself, together with Sir Thomas Gates 
and Sir George Somers, two courageous knights, Robert Hunt, a clergy- 
man, Richard Hakluyt, prebendary of Westminster, Edward Maria 
Wingfield, a London merchant, and John Smith, a soldier of fortune, 
became the nucleus of an organization which ultimately developed into 
a mammoth colonial trading company. King James I, who had suc- 
ceeded Elizabeth in 1603, lent his sanction to the undertaking, and in 
1606 issued a charter to the body of patentees. In their colonial enter- 
prises Gilbert and Raleigh had indeed formed associations for the accom- 
plishment of their schemes, and Raleigh, who himself never made the 
voyage to Virginia, yielded to his association most of the powers and 
concessions contained in his letters patent from the Queen. The dif- 
ference, however, between these organizations and that effected by the 
charter of 1606 was first, that the Virginia Company as a corporation 
owed its existence directly to the crown, and secondly, it operated under 
many more restrictions as to governmental and territorial powers, as well 
as in regard to the monopoly of trade, than were applied to the royal 
grants of the sixteenth century. Raleigh, for instance, could grant land 
in fee simple at will, but under the first Virginia charter land was 
granted by the King to those who were approved by the Council. 

[12] 



THE LONDON COMPANY OF VIRGINIA 

The formation of the London or Virginia Company was not with- 
out its prototypes in the previous history of English commerce. In 
its commercial spirit it was closely akin to the private feudal grants of 
Elizabeth during the sixteenth century, and in its organization it fol- 
lowed closely the private trade companies dating as far back as the early 
part of the fifteenth century. Especially, however, did the charter of 
the British East India Company, issued by Queen Elizabeth in 1600, 
serve as a pattern for the charters issued by King James I. The East 
India Company, consisting of more than 125 members and enjoying an 
absolute monopoly of trade and almost unlimited governmental powers 
within its geographical boundaries, became the most stupendous colonial 
trading company that the world has ever known, maintaining its exist- 
ence for more than two centuries and a half. 

By the terms of the charter given under the seal of James I on the 
tenth of April, 1606, authority was given for the establishment of two 
colonies in Virginia, the name applied at that time to the whole of the 
vast area claimed by England in the New World. The Southern 
Colony was to be planted by the London Company with its northern 
boundary reaching as far as the mouth of the Hudson River ; the 
Northern Colony was intrusted to the Plymouth Company with its 
southern boundary marked by the Potomac River. The possession of 
the territory included between the Hudson and the Potomac, which was 
assigned to both companies, was to be determined by priority of set- 
tlement, the charter providing that neither company might establish a 
settlement within one hundred miles of a colony previously planted by 
the other. The names of the companies soon fell into disuse ; and the 
territory of the Southern Colony became known as Virginia, while that 
of the Northern Colony was called New England. 

[133 



THE LONDON COMPANY OF VIRGINIA 

It was the Plymouth Company which made the first effort to fix a 
colony under the charter which had been granted in the names of 
Raleigh Gilbert, William Parker, Thomas Hanham, and George Pop- 
ham. In May, 1 606, a band of settlers was started on its westward 
journey. They established themselves near the mouth of the Kennebec 
River, but the privations of the bitter winter and the death of some of 
their leading spirits proved too great for their endurance. When in the 
spring a supply ship arrived from home, they determined to abandon 
their miserable settlement, and the whole company reembarked for 
England. Thus the first and only serious attempt of the Plymouth 
Company to establish a colony ended in failure. 

The London Company had been intrusted, under the terms of the 
charter, to Sir Thomas Gates, Sir George Somers, Richard Hakluyt, and 
Edward Maria Wingfield. By December, 1606, three small ships, the 
Susan Constant, the Godspeed, and the Discovery, had been put in readi- 
ness for the journey, and a company of more than one hundred settlers 
set sail on the voyage which was to result in the first permanent settle- 
ment on the shores of America. 

Among the adventurers who set out in this company were men from 
every rank of life. Unfortunately perhaps for the new settlement, 
more than half of the whole number were "gentlemen," while car- 
penters and laborers were in a distressing minority. It was the original 
intention of the settlers to establish a colony on the site of Raleigh's 
settlement at Roanoke Island, but a violent storm drove the ships into 
the Chesapeake Bay. There the storm abated, and because of the 
shelter and comfort which the harbor afforded after the recent dangers 
of the sea, they called the place on the western shore of the bay to 
which their vessels were directed, Point Comfort. From the present 

[Hi 



THE LONDON COMPANY OF VIRGINIA 

site of Hampton they proceeded by boat up the river which, in honor 
of the King, they called the "James." About forty miles from the 
mouth of the river they chose, on May 13, 1607, a site for the estab- 
lishment of their colony; Jamestown they called it, and a miserable 
location it proved to be, a low peninsula more than half of which was 
covered by water at high tide. With energy and enthusiasm they set 
about felling trees and building temporary huts. Before the summer 
was over there appeared upon the banks of this river in the wilderness 
of Virginia something that approximated a civilized community. The 
first charter granted to the London Company made the government of 
the colony distinctly a creature of the Crown. The affairs of the Com- 
pany under the terms of the charter were to be managed by a Council 
appointed by the King and responsible to him. A subordinate Council 
was to be appointed in the colony by the superior Council in London. 
The settlers were, however, granted about the same degree of civil 
liberty which was then enjoyed by Englishmen at home. Trial by jury 
was secured to all persons charged of crime. Only a few offenses were 
made subject to capital punishment, and it was provided that the 
colonial Council should try all civil causes. The communistic or co- 
operative idea took the form of a provision by which all products of 
the colony for a period of five years were to be brought to a public 
storehouse where a treasurer, or Cape Merchant as the officer was 
called, was given the power to apportion them in accordance with the 
necessities of the individual members of the community. The Church 
of England was made the established church of the colony. It is evi- 
dent that under this first charter the colonists of the London Company 
enjoyed no very generous degree of civil liberty, for their local govern- 
ment was strictly subordinated to the control of the King through his 

[15] 



THE LONDON COMPANY OF VIRGINIA 

Council in London. It was indeed only a modification of this form of 
government which was reinstated when the London Company was dis- 
solved in 1624. With the exception of John Smith and Bartholomew 
Gosnold, the members of the Virginia Council proved to be utterly lack- 
ing in the capacity for leadership which was necessary to put the infant 
colony upon a self-supporting basis. The promise for the future was 
not auspicious. Gosnold soon died, and Smith, being under arrest be- 
cause of a jealousy of his ability and influence, was, in consequence, 
excluded from the debates of the Council. In the meantime famine 
and sickness descended upon the settlement and swept off about half of the 
colonists while factious elements within the Council made it almost impos- 
sible adequately to provide for the community the bare necessities 01 life. 

In the winter of 1 607 Smith, having been vindicated of the charges 
against him, made the voyage up the Chickahominy River and was cap- 
tured by the Indians. It was at this time, as the story goes, that he 
was saved from death by the intervention of Pocahontas, then a girl of 
twelve or thirteen years of age, and the favorite daughter of King Pow- 
hatan. Within a few days after his rescue Smith was permitted to 
return to Jamestown, and it was largely due to his influence and to that 
of the youthful Pocahontas, that more or less amicable relations were 
established between the white settlers and the tribes of Indians which 
threatened the destruction of Jamestown. 

For two years, under the strong hand of this soldier-ruler, the 
colony fought for its existence against the overwhelming odds of star- 
vation, illness, and threatened attacks of the Indians, but in the mean- 
time the London Company succeeded in getting new concessions from 
the King which largely increased its direct powers over the affairs of 
the colony. 

[163 



THE LONDON COMPANY OF VIRGINIA 

In 1609 a second charter drawn by Sir Edwin Sandys was given to 
the Company by King James, and under it the colony became more dis- 
tinctly proprietary in its character. The governmental functions of the 
King were now taken over by the Company, while it retained in addi- 
tion the financial and commercial responsibilities of the undertaking. 
The great corporation under the new charter consisted of no less than 
659 of the most distinguished noblemen, knights, and gentlemen of 
England, as well as some fifty-six companies of London. The most 
significant feature of this second charter was the provision that the 
Council in London should be chosen by the Company itself and not 
appointed by the King as the original charter had prescribed. Sir 
Thomas West, Lord Delaware, was made the Governor and Captain- 
General of Virginia, Sir Thomas Gates the Lieutenant-Governor, and 
Sir George Somers the Admiral, under the new charter. The geo- 
graphical boundaries of Virginia were also changed by the provisions 
that the limit of the colony should extend two hundred miles south, 
and two hundred miles north of the mouth of the James River, and 
west and northwest from sea to sea. 

Among the English gentlemen who embarked with Gates and 
Somers in the ship Sea-Venture was Master John Rolfe, who, several 
years later, having become enamoured of the Princess Pocahontas, mar- 
ried her and took her with him back to England. There Pocahontas 
became the fashion of the day. She was lionized and courted and 
favored by the ladies and courtiers of London society. Lady Dela- 
ware, the wife of the first Governor of Virginia, presented her at court 
where she was graciously received by the King and his consort, Queen 
Anne. The sensation which was created by the visit of Pocahontas to 
London was not without its effect upon the Virginia colony. New 

D7] 



THE LONDON COMPANY OF VIRGINIA 

interest was awakened in this land beyond the seas which seemed to be 
personified in the graceful simplicity of the Indian maiden Pocahontas. 
In 1 612 a third charter was granted to the Virginia Company in 
order that the Bermudas, where ambergris had been recently discovered, 
might be included in the territory of the colony. But the charter 
contained far more important provisions than the accession of the Ber- 
mudas. All the privileges of the charter of 1 609 were reaffirmed and 
Virginia was no longer to be governed by a Council sitting in London. 
Authority was given to the members of the Company to sit once a week 
instead of at long intervals, or as often as they chose, and to hold four 
general courts every year for the consideration of the affairs of the Com- 
pany. It was a dangerous move on the part of the King, for the new 
charter in reality created a democratic assembly where free discussion 
might place the royal prerogative in jeopardy, and this was exactly what 
happened. It must be remembered that King James, with insolent 
stubbornness, claimed to rule by divine right. In his own eyes his 
powers were superior both to Parliament and to the laws of the realm. 
The result was that a fierce struggle for power arose between the King 
and Parliament — a conflict which, continuing throughout the reign of 
King James and being taken up by his son, Charles I, finally culmi- 
nated in civil war. Many of the members of the London Company dur- 
ing this period were also members of Parliament, and, as a rule, at the 
quarterly sessions of the London Company these members constituted 
from one third to one half of those present. The result was that the 
questions at issue between the King and Parliament were carried into 
the meetings of the London Company for discussion. By 161 9 there 
was a segregation of parties within the Company on the question of 
royal and parliamentary powers. One element of the Company was 

[18] 



THE LONDON COMPANY OF VIRGINIA 

friendly to the King and desired to see his wishes in regard to the colony 
of Virginia carried out. The other element of the Company, standing 
for liberalism in government as opposed to the despotism of the royal 
prerogative, sought to defeat the purposes of the King in the London 
Company, even though they were unable to thwart his designs in Par- 
liament. Sir Thomas Smythe, the president and treasurer of the 
London Company, was a friend of the King. His plans for the man- 
agement of the Company were in reality dictated by the King, and in 
every quarterly session of the Company he had as the advocates of his 
measures the strong support of Robert Rich (Earl of Warwick), Sir 
Nathan Rich, Sir Henry Mildmay, and others. Most of the faction led 
by Smythe were merchants and they brought to their discussions the 
practical ideas of business men. Opposed to them was a faction led by 
Henry Wriothesley, third earl of Southampton, ably supported by Sir 
Edwin Sandys and his brother, George Sandys; the Ferrars, Nicholas 
and John; Lord Sackville, fourth earl of Dorset, and William Caven- 
dish, first earl of Devonshire. This element of the Company was com- 
posed largely of lords, gentlemen, and knights. In 1619 the liberal ele- 
ment, in control, elected Sir Edwin Sandys as president and treasurer of 
the Company. 

When, in 1620, the question arose as to who should be elected treas- 
urer of the Company, the Southampton faction proposed that Sir Edwin 
Sandys should be continued in the office. The King was incensed. He 
sent word to the London Company to choose the devil, but not Sir Edwin; 
whereupon, the liberal faction withdrew the name of Sandys and nomi- 
nated the Earl of Southampton. To the King, Southampton's election 
was even more obnoxious than that of Sir Edwin Sandys would have 
been. From this time on, the London Company did not enjoy the sup- 



THE LONDON COMPANY OF VIRGINIA 

port of the King, and he watched every opportunity to revoke its 
charter. Under the management of Southampton, — a management 
which was really directed by Sir Edwin Sandys, — the Virginia colony 
prospered. Sir George Yeardley, who had been appointed Governor for 
the first time in 1616, was returned to Virginia three years later. He 
proved an ideal man, allying himself with the liberal faction and lending 
his encouragement to the cultivation of tobacco, the transportation of 
young women to the colony in order that permanent homes might be 
built, the introduction of herds of cattle, and many other improvements 
that would contribute to the permanent growth and general economic 
development of the colony. In two years the population of Virginia 
had trebled. 

When in 161 9 Sir George Yeardley returned to Virginia as Gov- 
ernor-General of the colony, he was given by the Company authority to 
call together a general assembly elected by the inhabitants of the colony. 
On July 30, 1 619, the first legislative body that ever sat in America 
came together at Jamestown. The spirit of the assembly is perhaps 
well portrayed in the petition to the Company requesting that the Virginia 
Assembly be permitted to disallow orders of the Company in court, in 
view of the fact that His Majesty had given the Company power to dis- 
allow laws of the Virginia Assembly. For the most part, however, the 
Assembly undertook to handle questions only of local significance. 

Under this liberal government it was then proposed to establish 
schools in Virginia, and the Reverend Patrick Copeland gave money for 
this purpose. His scheme was strongly supported by the Ferrars and 
the Sandyses. As early as 1 6 1 8 a college was authorized for Virginia, 
and the legislative assembly of 161 9 passed a law relative to the con- 
struction of the college building. In 1620 George Thorpe came over 

OH 



THE LONDON COMPANY OF VIRGINIA 

as superintendent of the college lands, and in 1622 Reverend Patrick 
Copeland was persuaded to accept the position of rector. But during 
the terrible massacre of 1622 the college property was destroyed, and 
Copeland, Virginia's first college advocate, never came to take up his 
duties as rector. 

In the spring of 1623 the King sent commissioners to Virginia 
to report on the state of the colony. Their report was adverse. The 
commissioners represented that all the ills of the colony resulted from 
gross mismanagement under popular government. By quo warranto 
proceedings, therefore, before Chief Justice Ley, the charter of the Com- 
pany was dissolved in 1624. The records of the Company from 161 9 
to 1624 have been preserved through the instrumentality of Nicholas 
Ferrar, the Younger, who, according to some accounts, had the copies 
made by an expert. 

Virginia now became a royal province, but the good work which had 
been begun by the London Company could not be undone. Fortu- 
nately for Virginia, James died about a year after the dissolution of the 
Company and was succeeded by his son, Charles I. It had been James's 
purpose to take away from the colony some of the freedom in govern- 
mental affairs which had been enjoyed under the London Company; 
but the Assembly of Virginia sent a delegation to England, who, by 
granting to Charles certain duties on tobacco from the colony, succeeded 
in retaining a liberal form of government for the Virginia colony. 
Thus the most abiding influence of the London Company resulting from 
the settlement of Virginia — popular government — was left a living 
germ from which has developed our republican form of government. 



[>0 



PHOTOGRAVURES 



Queen Elizabeth, daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, was born 
in 1533 and by an act of Parliament in 1 544 was placed in the direct line 
for succession to the throne after Edward and Mary. Mary died in 
November, 1558, and Elizabeth ascended the throne as a Protestant 
Queen. The early years of her reign were marked by dangerous con- 
tinental complications, but her intellectual grasp of European politics was 
perhaps far in advance of any of her advisers. The reign ot Elizabeth 
was one of prosperity in England — a prosperity which showed itself 
especially in the adventurous undertakings of explorers and discoverers 
who, under the patronage of the Queen, traversed the seas between Eu- 
rope and America in search of the supposed Northwest Passage to the 
east or to find stores of gold and precious metals in unknown lands. 
The voyages of Raleigh and Gilbert were both undertaken under the 
encouragement given by Elizabeth, and to her the name Virginia owes 
its origin. She died in 1603, after a reign of more than forty years, in 
which she had met and successfully overcome many formidable difficul- 
ties. Without being herself a blameless type of womanhood she had 
exhibited a strength of character and a political foresight which is un- 
common in women sovereigns. Cromwell it was who said of her : " Queen 
Elizabeth of famous memory; we need not be ashamed to call her so!" 



Sir Humphrey Gilbert, son of Otto Gilbert, was born at Devon in 
1539. Although educated at Eton and Oxford, his natural inclination 
was for the sea. He, therefore, studied navigation and the art of war. 
In 1566 he petitioned the Queen for the privilege of making discoveries 
in the northwest. He served in the wars in Ireland under Sir Henry 
Sidney between 1566 and 1569, where he was knighted for bravery in 
1 570. The next year he became a member of Parliament for Plymouth. 
He wrote a " Discourse of a Discovery for the new Pagge to Cataia." 
He became interested in Frobisher's voyages, and in 1578 he obtained 
letters patent from the Queen for establishing a colony in America. 
After one attempt, in which he failed, he finally landed at Newfoundland 
in 1583, and explored the coast as far south probably as Florida. In 
the same year he was lost at sea. 




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Sir Walter Raleigh, born in Devon, England, in 1552, was educated 
at Oxford. He took part in the religious wars on the continent between 
1569 and 1578. Returning to England, he became interested in the 
colonial undertakings of his half brother, Sir Humphrey Gilbert. With 
Gilbert he set sail for America, but the expedition had to be abandoned. 
In 1580 he was engaged in putting down the revolt in Ireland. He 
became a favorite with Queen Elizabeth, and in 1582, through her influ- 
ence, he furnished a ship for Gilbert's voyage to America. In 1584 he 
himself received letters patent from the Queen for the establishment of 
a colony in America. In the same year he became a member of Parlia- 
ment and a year later was knighted at Greenwich. It was under his 
letters patent that he made two attempts to plant a colony on Roanoke 
Island. In 1589 he transferred the grants which he held from the 
Queen to Thomas Smythe and others. He tought against the Spanish 
Armada and otherwise served in the army of Queen Elizabeth. A few 
years later he made a voyage to Guiana and on his return published an 
account of it. During most of these years he served as a member of 
Parliament for different places in England. In 1603 he was tried and 
convicted on the charge of being implicated in the Main conspiracy. 
For more than twelve years he remained confined in the Tower of Lon- 
don. In 1 61 7 he sailed again for Guiana, where he made an attack on 
the Spaniards. On his return to England a year later he was arrested, 
tried, and beheaded. He was buried at St. Margaret's, Westminster. 




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Sir Richard Grenville (Granville) was born in 1540. Early in his 
life he fought against the Turks in the Hungarian army and attained 
eminent distinction for his services. He became a member of Parlia- 
ment in 1 571, and a few years later began to manifest interest in the new 
discoveries which were being agitated. He lent his assistance to the ex- 
peditions of Amadas and Barlow in 1 584, and himself conducted the first 
colony to Virginia in 1585. He returned to England the next year to 
secure supplies for the settlement on Roanoke Island. In 1588 he 
engaged in the fight against the Spanish Armada, and two years later, 
during the war with Spain, he was killed in a desperate battle waged 
against the Spanish Plate fleet. 




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Sir Francis Drake was probably the son of Robert Drake of Otterton. 
He was born somewhere between 1538 and 1546. At an early date 
he went to sea, making frequent voyages to various parts of the world, 
especially to the West Indies. In 1573 he took service under the Earl 
of Essex in Ireland. Between 1577 and 1580 he made the first voyage 
of an Englishman around the world, for which he was knighted by 
Queen Elizabeth. It was Drake who, in 1586, took back to England in 
his fleet the half-perished colonists at Roanoke Island. He fought 
against the Spanish Armada in 1588 and in the Portugal expedition a 
year later. He died in 1596 near Porto Bello while on his last voyage 
to the West Indies, and was buried in the Gulf of Mexico. Drake, like 
most of the discoverers and sea-rovers of his day, was a pirate, but he 
seems to have been a man ot not only dashing courage but ot some 
fine parts. 



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King James I of England was born in Edinburgh in 1566 and a year 
later succeeded his mother, Mary Queen of Scots, to the throne of 
Scotland as James VI. Upon the death of Oueen Elizabeth in 1603, 
he was proclaimed King of England, taking the title of James I. He 
was a man of some ability, but his reign was overshadowed by the one 
dominating idea of his mind that he reigned by divine will. He seems 
to have had a generous love for his country, and, in spite of the censure 
of American historians, he was certainly the friend of his American colo- 
nies. The colonial ambitions of the English people were fostered by 
him and a beginning was made during the period of his rule in that 
movement which has scattered the civilization of the English-speaking 
people to every part of the globe. He has been condemned for having 
advocated the appointment of merchants to the official positions in the 
London Company, as well as for the character of the men whom he 
recommended and sought to have installed in those positions. His 
judgment, however, was probably better than that of those who cen- 
sured him, and his friendly feeling and generous interest in the affairs 
of the colony are shown by the personal activity which he manifested 
in the proceedings of the London Company. King James I is remem- 
bered throughout the English-speaking world by the authorized or 
King James translation of the Bible. He was responsible for the 
Hampton Court conference which accomplished this translation. He 
died March 27, 1625, and is buried in Westminster Abbey. 




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Queen Anne, the consort of James I of England, was the daughter of 
Frederick II, King of Denmark. She married James in 1589, before he 
became King of England. Queen Anne manifested a deep interest in 
everything that concerned the Virginia colony, and her reception to Po- 
cahontas in London gave a distinct impetus to the general interest in 
American affairs. Rappahannock River was at one time called for her 
the Anne River, and Cape Ann in Massachusetts is also named in her 
honor. She died in 1619. 




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John Smith was born at Willoughby in 1579, of poor parents. Unfor- 
tunately, most of the accounts of his life are based on his own writings. 
It seems probable that from 1599 on, Smith led a roving and adventur- 
ous life which carried him all over Europe. It is not known exactly when 
Captain Smith returned to England, but he tells us that he became 
interested in the Virginia undertaking two years before the first colony 
set out under the London Company in 1606. From February to June, 
1607, he was held as a prisoner, but after that time he was admitted to 
the Virginia Council, and became at once active in the affairs of the colony. 
In the winter of i6o7-'o8, he was captured by the Indians, but after a 
short captivity was permitted to return to Jamestown. By the summer 
of 1 60S, Smith and Scrivener succeeded in deposing the only other 
member of the Virginia Council, and Smith became its president, in 
which office he remained for about a year. In September of 1609, 
Smith was severely wounded by the explosion of a bag of gunpowder, 
and returned to England. Five years later he made a voyage to the 
New England coast. Captain Smith wrote a number of works relating 
to America. Smith died in 1631, and was buried in St. Sepulchre's 
Church, London. 




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St. Sepulchre's Church, located at the west end of Newgate Street, 
was built in the 15th century. The body of the church, however, was 
burned during the great fire of 1666. It has several times been repaired 
and restored, and in 1 878-1 880, the entire body of the church was re- 
stored under Mr. Robert Billing, architect. The church is Gothic 
throughout. Among the prominent persons buried in St. Sepulchre's 
are Roger Ascham and Captain John Smith. The latter was buried 
" on the south side of the Quire" where a "table" was hung containing 
an inscription very suitable to his character. This table was destroyed 
but within recent years has been replaced by his admirers. 




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Pocahontas, whose real name was probably Matoaka, was born in Vir- 
ginia about 1596. She was the favorite daughter of Powhatan, the 
"Emperor of the Indians in Virginia." According to Captain Smith's 
accounts, not only did she save his life more than once, but it was due 
largely to her influence that friendly intercourse was established with the 
Indians in the neighborhood of Jamestown and the settlement itself pre- 
served from destruction. In 1613 she was taken prisoner by Captain 
Argall, and was held as a hostage at Jamestown for several months. Soon 
afterward she married John Rolfe, an English gentleman who came to 
Jamestown in company with Sir Thomas Gates and Sir George Somers. 
In 1 6 1 6 Rolfe and Pocahontas sailed for England with Sir Thomas Dale. 
She immediately became the fashion of the hour, was wined and dined 
and courted in the social life of London. She was presented at court, 
and was entertained by the Bishop of London as the first convert to 
the English Church in Virginia. A year later, as she was about to set 
sail for her native country, she died at Gravesend, leaving one son, 
Thomas Rolfe, from whom are descended many prominent Virginians. 
She was buried in St. George's Church, Gravesend. 




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The Church of St. George, at Gravesend, is remembered by all 
Americans familiar with Virginia history. It is visited annually by 
many Americans who read in the register of the church this entry : 
" Rebecca Wrolfe, wyffe of Thos. Wrolfe, gent, a Virginia lady born, 
was buried in ye chauncel." Thus the parish death register records the 
burial of Pocahontas, alias Matoaka, baptized at Jamestown as Rebecca. 
Some Americans proposed that a memorial be erected at Gravesend to 
Pocahontas, but, for some cause or other, the plan was never carried 
through. Of late years, however, a rector of the church placed a marble 
there to the "Virginia lady born" with a brief account of her services 
in saving the first Virginia colony. 




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Sir George Somers was born of respectable parentage in 1554- In 
1595 he began his career on the sea. A year later he made a voyage to 
the West Indies, and in July, 1603, he was knighted. He became a 
member of Parliament, but his seat was declared vacant by reason of his 
absence in Virginia. In 1609 he set sail for Virginia as Admiral under 
the new charter which had been granted by King James, but his vessel 
was wrecked on the Bermuda Islands and he did not arrive in Virginia 
until May, 16 10. He found the colony on the point of starvation, and 
therefore advised the abandonment of Jamestown. The settlers had 
actually set sail for England with Somers, but returned after one night's 
absence on learning that Lord Delaware had just entered the mouth of 
James River. A little later Somers returned to the Bermudas to secure 
supplies for the Virginia colony, and there, in November, 16 10, he died. 
His body was carried back to England and interred at Whitchurch in 
Dorsetshire. 



Sir Thomas Smythe was born about 1558 and received his education 
at Oxford. He became a prominent man of affairs at a very early age, 
and it is difficult in the annals of the times to distinguish his acts from 
those of his father, who bore the same name. He is probably, however, 
the same Smythe to whom, among others, Raleigh in 1589 assigned his 
interest in the lands of Virginia. He was one of the incorporators and 
the first Governor of the East India Company in 1600, and was elected 
Sheriff of London the same year. He was knighted by King James in 
1603, and a year later was sent to Russia as a special ambassador. He was 
a member of the first Council for Virginia in 1 606, continuing as a Coun- 
cillor for the Virginia Company in 1609. His interest in the Virginia 
enterprise was manifested by the liberality ot his gifts toward the under- 
taking, and it was upon him very largely that its success or failure 
rested during the period of its darkest outlook. In 1610 he joined a 
number of others in sending Henry Hudson to discover the Northwest 
Passage, and a year later he became one of the incorporators and the 
first Governor of the Northwest Passage Company. For years he con- 
tinued to take a prominent part in sending out voyages of discovery to 
Greenland and other points of the globe. In 1614 he stood solidly in 
Parliament for the interests of the Virginia and East India Companies. 
Again and again he was elected Governor of the East India Company 
in spite of his desire to retire. When, in 1619, he declined to be- 
come a candidate for the treasurer of the Virginia Company, there were 
three distinct factions within the Company, one under the leadership of 
Robert Rich, Earl of Warwick, the second consisting chiefly of mer- 
chants under the leadership of Sir Thomas Smythe himself, and the 
third under Sir Edwin Sandys. The first and third parties, having 
determined to unite against the candidates of the Smythe faction, suc- 
ceeded in electing Sir Edwin Sandys to the treasurership. In 1620 
Smythe was recommended by James I to be elected treasurer of the 
Virginia Company. Though the Earl of Warwick personally came 
over to Smythe's support, the Earl of Southampton, was chosen treasurer 
of the Company. Smythe had been in bad health for many years, but 
he continued to manifest his interest in the affairs of the Virginia Com- 
pany. As the factions grew more violent, however, he began to see the 
necessity for a dissolution of the Company. When King James dis- 
solved the Company by a writ of quo warranto, issued by Chief Justice 
Ley, Sir Thomas Smythe became a member of the Royal Commission 
for Virginia affairs, and in this office he continued until he died at 
Tunbridge in 1625. 




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Robert Rich, 2nd Earl of Warwick, was born in 1587. In 16 14 he 
became member of Parliament, and two years later he joined with a 
number of others in sending out ships to take Spanish prizes. These 
ships coming in contact with the fleet of the East India Company, there 
arose an acrimonious controversy between Rich and the members of 
that company, and the charter for which he had applied granting him a 
monopoly of trade in Guinea and Binney was for some time withheld. 
His father died in 1619, a year after he had been made Earl of War- 
wick, and Robert Rich succeeded to the title. The same year he be- 
came a member of the King's Council for the Virginia Company. He 
lent his influence to the Sandys party in their effort to control the affairs 
of the Virginia Company, and later he became the leader of the party 
opposed to the Earl of Southampton. After the Virginia Company 
was dissolved in 1624, he became a member of the Council in England 
for Virginia affairs. Between 1627 and 1654 he was almost continu- 
ously Governor of the Bermudas Company. He was president also of 
the New England Council. Warwick River, now Warwick County, 
Virginia, was named in honor of him. In 1643 ne was chosen by 
Parliament to be Governor of all the islands and plantations belonging 
to any of His Majesty's subjects in America. Five years later he was 
made Lord High Admiral by Parliament. During the Revolution he 
took sides with Cromwell. In 1658 he died. 



Henry Wriothesley, third Earl of Southampton, was born October 6, 
1573, and succeeded to the title of his father in 158 1. He graduated 
from Cambridge with the degree of Bachelor of Arts. He was a friend 
and patron of Shakespeare, who dedicated to him his Venus and Adonis 
and the Rape of Lucrece. In 1601 he was tried and found guilty for 
the part he had played in the Essex Rebellion, but his sentence was 
stayed, and, after the death of Queen Elizabeth, he was released from the 
Tower. In 1602 he became interested in the establishment of a colony 
in Virginia, and from that time till his death he was a patron of many 
expeditions for discovery and colonization. He was one of His 
Majesty's Council for Virginia under the charter of 1609, and in June, 
1620, was unanimously chosen treasurer of the Virginia Company, in 
which office he continued until the dissolution of the charter in 1624. 
In the same vear he died. He was a man of acquired talents and polite 
accomplishments, although of no very great strength of mind and 
character. He was the nominal head of the Liberal faction of the 
Company, of which Edwin Sandys was the real leader. 







. H i in -if (( r,',<t I, i .,/<ii 



■ 



Sir Edwin Sandys, born in 1561, was educated at Oxford, receiving the 
Bachelor of Arts degree from Corpus Christi College in 1579. Going 
to Scotland after extended travels on the continent, he entered the ser- 
vice of King James of Scotland, and came with him to London, when he 
was made King of England in 1603. He was for seven years a member 
of Parliament for Stockbridge. In 1607 he became a member of the 
Council for Virginia, and continued in 1609 as a member of the Council 
for the Company. During the illness of Sir Thomas Smythe, Sir Edwin 
acted as his assistant in the management of the affairs of the Virginia 
Company, and in 161 9 he succeeded Smythe as the treasurer of the Com- 
pany. He had himself drafted the Virginia charters of 1609 and 1612, 
and when, after a stormy election, he was chosen member of Parliament 
for Sandwich, he notified the Company that he was about to prepare a 
new charter for them. During the recess of Parliament of 1621 and 
1622, he was committed to jail, much to the indignation of many of the 
members of the House of Commons. It does not appear exactly what 
his offense may have been, but presumably it was because of his activity 
in the affairs of the Virginia Company and his opposition to the crown. 
In all controversies within the Virginia Company, he and the Earl of 
Southampton were usually the leaders who advocated a liberal policy 
toward the colony. He was a man of great eloquence, and the Smythe 
faction twitted him and Ferrar for being men of more discourse than 
reason. The merchant element of the Company were able to convince 
King James, however, of their sincerity and of their business ability. 
They denied many of the glowing pictures about Virginia which the 
Sandys element tried to produce. In the Parliament of 1 621 -'22, Sir 
Edwin was the leader of a great movement against the monopolistic 
corporations which had had their beginning in 1604. Sandys was a 
member of Parliament throughout the period of struggle within the 
Virginia Company and even for a few years afterward. He died in 1629. 




(')//- (^,/irt/i C'/un/y. 



William Cavendish, first Earl of Devonshire, the second son of Sir 
William Cavendish, was born about 1550. His mother was a woman 
prominent in the history of England, of feminine beauty and masculine 
intellect. He became a member of Parliament for Newport in 1588 
and sheriff" of Derbyshire in 1594. He became interested in the estab- 
lishment of a colony in Virginia and was prominent in the movement 
by which the Bermudas were incorporated in the territory of Virginia in 
1 61 2. In 161 8 he was created Earl of Devonshire. He was prominent 
on the side of the Sandys faction in the struggle within the London 
Company in 1623. March 3, 1626, he died, and was buried at Endsore 
near Chatsvvorth. 



Nicholas Ferrar, the Elder, born in 1546, became one of those mer- 
chant adventurers who trafficked on a large scale between England and 
the East and West Indies. On his death in 1620, he bequeathed X3°° 
for the establishment of a college in Virginia "to be paid when there 
shall be ten of the Infidels children placed in it, and in the mean time 
24 pounds by the yeare to be dispersed unto three discreete and godly 
men in the Colonie, which shall honestly bring up three of the Infidels 
children in Christian Religion, and some good course to live by." He 
was allied with the Liberal faction of the London Company. 




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Nicholas Ferrar, the Younger, born in 1 593, was the son of Nicholas, 
the Elder. A precocious child, he graduated from Cambridge with the 
degree of Master of Arts at the age of twenty. After traveling abroad, 
he returned to England and became a member of the Council for the 
Virginia Company in 161 9. From 1622 to the time of the dissolution 
of the Company, he was its deputy treasurer, and it was during this period 
that he performed the work for which he is chiefly remembered. Prob- 
ably he realized the imminent danger which threatened the Company. 
At any rate he caused to be made accurate copies of the Virginia records. 
These copies passed into the hands of the Earl of Southampton, and 
after the death of the third and fourth Earls, these priceless manuscripts 
were bought by William Byrd, the first of the name in Virginia. From 
the Byrd family, they passed to William Stith, President of William and 
Mary College. They next found their way to the library of Peyton 
Randolph, and after his death they were secured by Thomas Jefferson. 
When the Library of Congress bought from Mr. Jefferson his library, 
these manuscripts were included in the purchase. After the dissolution 
of the Virginia Company, Nicholas Ferrar became a distinguished member 
of the House of Commons. Later in life he retired to Huntingdon- 
shire, where he established a peculiar monastic retreat. In the retire- 
ment of this cloister, Ferrar spent the closing days of his life. 




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Edward Sackville, 4th Earl of Dorset, was born in 1590 and re- 
ceived his education at Oxford. In 1620 he went to the continent in 
command of the troops sent to assist the Elector Palatine. He was 
prominent in the official life of England during his time, serving as a 
member of Parliament, as an ambassador to France, and as a member of 
the Privy Council. He succeeded to the title of the Earl of Dorset on 
the death of his brother in 1624. During the struggles which arose 
in the Virginia Company between 1622 and 1624, he took sides with 
the Southampton faction. In the years that followed the dissolution 
of the Virginia Company, he strove manfully along with George Sandys 
to secure the reestablishment of the Company. Four times did he 
make special appeals to King Charles for this purpose, but the oppo- 
sition of the planters themselves defeated all his efforts. His last at- 
tempt was made in 1642. Ten years later he died. 



Charles I, the second son of James I, was born November 19, 1600, 
and ascended the throne on the death of his father twenty-five years 
later. He was thoroughly imbued with the notion which his father 
had held, that a king ruled by divine right. He pushed his royal pre- 
rogative to the point of a conflict with Parliament, which resulted in 
a civil war and the loss of his own head in 1649. His name survives 
at several geographical points in America. Cape Charles, Charles 
City (now City Point) and Charles City County in Virginia, and the 
Charles River in Massachusetts were all named in his honor. To him 
Virginia owes the continuation of representative government after the 
dissolution of the London Company. 




' Kiri4j (' /,nrlc.> I . 



X 



George Sandys, brother of Sir Edwin Sandys, was born in 1577. He 
was educated at Oxford University and traveled extensively through 
Europe, Asia and Africa. He was a gentleman of fine accomplishments 
and some literary attainments. He joined the Virginia Company, and 
in 1 62 1, having been chosen treasurer of the colony, he went over to 
Virginia, where he remained at least until 1628. There he translated 
fifteen books of Ovid's Metamorphoses. After the dissolution of the 
Virginia Company, he was appointed secretary of the Royal Commission 
for the government of Virginia. After his return from Virginia, he be- 
came a gentleman of the King's Privy Chamber. When, in 1638, an 
attempt was made to reestablish the London Company, he was chosen 
the agent for the Virginia Assembly to oppose the movement in Lon- 
don. Unfortunately, he misunderstood his instructions and submitted 
a petition from the colonists in favor of a rechartering of the Company. 
The Assembly, however, hastened to refute the petition and the King 
assured them that the Company would not be reincorporated. Sandys 
died in 1644, at Bexley Abbey in Kent, the seat of his niece, the widow 
of Governor Wyatt of Virginia. 




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George Calvert was born about 1580 in Yorkshire. After receiving 
his A.B. at Oxford, 1597, he entered public life under the patronage of 
Sir Robert Cecil. He held many prominent offices, among them 
secretary of the Privy Council and Secretary of State. He was deeply 
interested in England's colonial policy, was a stockholder in the East 
India Company, the London Company and the New England 
Company. As early as 1621, he sent settlers to plant a colony in 
Newfoundland. On the dissolution of the London Company, he was 
appointed a member of the commission to wind up the affairs of the 
Company, and later he was made a member of the committee of the 
King's Council for plantation affairs. In 1625, he was created Lord 
Baltimore. He was a warm friend and adviser on colonial matters of 
both James I and Charles I, and by the latter was granted a large sec- 
tion out of Virginia north of the Potomac for a settlement. He died in 
1632, before his plans could be put into operation. His rights were 
transmitted to his son, under whose direction Maryland was first settled. 




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